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Associated Press

FAIRBANKS- Officials with the Fairbanks North Star Borough say a plan to voluntarily switch out wood stoves in areas with the worst smoke pollution has not met goals.

Air quality project supervisor Todd Thompson says that of the 100 estimated dirty wood stoves in the Dale Road area, only 15 were replaced with more efficient stoves.

The enhanced program offered extra financial incentives to replace wood stoves and outdoor wood boilers where air is dirtiest.

Owners of outdoor hydronic heaters could receive up to $10,000 for cleaner systems. Owners of dirty wood stoves could get up to $3,500 and people who switched to burning pellets could receive another $1,000.

The ultimate goal is cleaning up Fairbanks air that perennially fails to meet federal standards for particulate.